Attributes of Polygonia progne

Gray CommaPolygonia progne (Cramer, 1775)

Identification: Upperside is bright orange-brown; summer form has hindwing with a wide dark border, winter form has the border covering only about 1/4 of the wing; both enclosing a few small yellow spots. Underside is charcoal gray with fine dark striations; forewing with 3-4 light chevrons in a dark border. Silver mark in center of hindwing is small, slender, and L-shaped.

Wing Span: 1 5/8 - 2 /12 inches (4.4 - 6.3 cm).

Life History: In midafternoon, males perch on trees or shrubs at the edges of clearings to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaves of host plants; the caterpillars feed underneath. Adults overwinter.

Flight: Two flights from hibernation, mates, and lays eggs which develop into the summer generation. Summer adults fly from June-August, laying eggs of the winter generation which appears in October and then hibernates.

Caterpillar Hosts: Gooseberries (Ribes) and azalea (Rhododendron).

Adult Food: Sap; rarely flower nectar.

Habitat: Along dirt roads, along streamsides, and within clearings in rich deciduous or confierous woods, in aspen parks, yards, and gardens. Often in hilly terrain or canyons.

Range: Northwest Territories and British Columbia south along Pacific coast to central California, southeast through Montana, Utah, Colorado, and the Dakotas to eastern Nebraska, central Kansas, and central Arkansas; east through southern Canada and the northern United States to Maine and the Maritimes; south in the Appalachians to North Carolina.

Conservation: Not usually required.

NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management Needs: None reported. Note: The Gray Comma includes Polygonia oreas and its subspecies silenus and nigrozephyrus. These were previously treated as a separate species.

Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Polygonia progne

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The map below displays all BAMONA data for this species and has three different data layers:1. All records (yellow dots) 2. Recently verified records (orange dots)* 3. US county records (purple)

There are also three base layers: 1. Satellite 2. Normal 3. Hybrid

How to use the map:Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map and turn on/off the data layers and base layers.

*The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. Sometimes, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.

To report technical difficulties or errors, Contact Us.This project is based upon work previously supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Program and the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.Primary financial support for this project comes from our advertisers.